With a shutdown temporarily averted over the weekend, Congress now has a little more than a month to pass a resolution that keeps the government open. If it fails to pass anything, Border Patrol agents will likely be forced to work overtime for zero pay. And if vital border-security initiatives are defunded during a historic migrant surge, cartels will be cashing in.
During the previous government shutdown, in 2019, border agents were left scrambling to find second jobs to make ends meet. Putting our Border Patrol agents in a situation in which they’re once again forced to moonlight may be the final straw that causes thousands of them to quit in droves — that is, if they weren’t planning to do so already. Last May, a government audit found that one-fourth of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were already planning to quit their posts within the next year because of burnout. Pausing payments will surely encourage more of them to leave.
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